2006 - Town of Longmeadow

a decline in complaints indicates that department responsiveness is improving. There are some particular actions the
town has taken to address recurring problems:
Sewer Backups - The town experienced a number of sewer system back ups over the years that the town attributed
to the lack of grease traps in food service establishments. These backups cause damage to residences and businesses
and inconvenience to the owners. These also cost the town time and money and increased insurance rates. As a
result, regulations requiring grease traps were adopted by the Board of Health to take effect July 1, 2007. Health
Director Beverly Hirschhorn and DPW Director Mike Wrabel have been working with food services/restaurants to
install appropriate traps to solve the problems. Compliance with these regulations will reduce the losses and
inconvenience to citizens, and will improve the overall performance of the sewer system.
Sign Violations - After receiving numerous citizen complaints about sign enforcement, the town implemented a new
enforcement procedure for illegal signs on town property. We now issue violation tickets and place fluorescent
orange violation notices on signs. Past practice of removing signs and placing them behind the police department for
violators to retrieve created a revolving door effect when the sign were just placed on town property after retrieval.
The new procedure appears to be very effective.
Consolidated Purchasing - The new consolidated purchasing function created under the Charter has effected more
efficient and effective purchasing processes, utilizing competitive bidding as well as purchasing from pre-approved
vendors on the state’s low-bid list. In 2006, this function processed almost $1.3 million in goods and services and
saved the town more that $82,000. The Purchasing Coordinator processed more than 85 Requests for Proposals and
Invitations to Bid, enabling department managers to focus on service delivery to citizens rather than complicated
procurement processes.
Improved Communication
Communication is always a challenge, no matter the size of an organization. There is no one single effective way to
communicate. However, the town’s website, www.longmeadow.org , has been an effective tool for posting notice
and progress reports. All boards and committees have been directed to post minutes on the website and some
departments, notably Fire and Health, have enhanced their web pages to provide links to emergency planning and
public health resources. Town departments also use local print media to communicate important town benchmarks
and information.
The town continued to hold forums on important topics. These included a forum on the future of Twin Hills Country
Club, at a time when a developer was proposing to purchase the site. The town would have had the right to purchase
the land first and we were trying to gauge the level of interest in the community. Most of the participants supported
the idea of purchasing the site. Fortunately, the members of the club were able to arrange and purchase and the club
remains in its present use as a golf course.
Another topic of general interest and concern were other property development activities in town. In response, the
town held a land use forum to discuss a variety of land use topics, including changes to the zoning bylaw, the
demolition delay bylaw being proposed and adoption of the Community Preservation Act (CPA). There is a high
level of interest in preserving the historic nature and aspects of the town, as well as its open space and recreational
amenities. This community support was demonstrated by the passage of the CPA and the demolition delay by-law at
the 2006 town meeting.
The town also held a forum on Emergency Planning. The federal and state governments are imposing more
requirements for local emergency planning, so town departments are putting more effort into emergency planning at
all levels. The forum was an opportunity to discuss with residents the scope of the town’s planning and help
residents prepare themselves and their families in the event of an emergency. The Fire Department and Board of
health websites have been updated to include links to sites on emergency preparedness. The town also developed a
Continuity of Operations Plan (COOP), in anticipation of a possible influenza pandemic. This plan outlines a plan
for keeping essential services in place during a protracted and severe health emergency.
There are frequent meetings between town officials and school official to discuss areas of mutual interest and
concern such the budget, consolidation, capital projects, and emergency planning and response.
Regular meetings of representatives of land use boards (Planning Board, ZBA, Conservation Commission, historic
boards) are held to discuss status of projects and areas of interest and concern regarding land use.
Employees and Citizen Volunteers Excel
We remain committed to developing internal competence within the organization through training. We now are
providing more training for employees and citizen volunteers to assist them in their work. There are more
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